Highroad for Oz

Andy's travel career - began at Thomas Cooks' HQ, Berkeley Square in London, then via airline work and coach driving to self-employed landscape gardener which, thankfully, provided the van transport from England to Australia (picture on previous page).

In 1968 in Sydney at age 26 Andy bought retiring Albion bus No 2004, added "London" to the destination blind, named the bus ALBERT and so began the first of fifteen fantastic trans-global adventures of which four made the trans-Australia crossing also.

ALBERT pioneered a reliable all-season overland service between London and Calcutta until 1976 when political turmoil in Iran effectively closed the road. With little choice but to leave the bus in England Andy returned to Australia to continue work in tours and travel.

The travel agency he and his wife established in South Australia flourished and it was not long before group tours were again being organised to all corners of the world.

Returning from one tour in 2002 he found ALBERT again in the UK in the care of others who hoped one day to restore the bus to overland glory.

But it was another seven years before a new owner finally offered the bus back to Andy to restore to a new life. A huge challenge - but also a chance to complete a dream.

So now, one more trip to organise . . . in ALBERT . . . overland . . . to Australia!

. . . illustrations: left - Andy's group tour flyers . . . below - Peru & Alaska . . .